Morning.
Inside the grand dining hall of the Sterling family.
Everyone was present — except for Cedaric and Aldric.
At the head of the long table sat Nedaric, a middle-aged man whose hair was streaked with silver. His neatly trimmed beard framed a face that still held its vigor. He wore a brown cloak over his broad shoulders, and though his expression was calm, his very presence radiated authority.
On either side of the table sat his concubines and their children.
Four concubines, nine children — five daughters, four sons. The two sons who were absent were none other than Cedaric and Aldric.
Nedaric cleared his throat. The sound alone made everyone flinch and bow their heads slightly, not daring to meet his gaze. Such a small gesture revealed just how absolute his power was within this household.
"Where are Cedaric and Aldric?" Nedaric asked.
One of his concubines spoke up timidly. "Nedaric, yesterday Cedaric returned from the Magic Academy, but he suddenly left again late last night. I'm not sure why."
"As for Aldric… he… hasn't woken up yet."
"Huh!" Another concubine snorted, her tone sharp and scornful. "Everyone, including his own father, is already here, and yet he's still sleeping? He grows more and more disrespectful by the day."
"How could someone like that ever be worthy of being the Sterling family's heir?"
"That's right," another concubine added, her voice deliberately soft yet full of venom. "Patriarch, I'm not trying to slander Aldric — I'm merely speaking the truth. Our family cannot allow a useless man to become the successor. It would disgrace our name before the entire nobility."
Nedaric frowned. The moment he did, the room fell silent. The women's faces paled, their words dying on their lips.
He scanned the room before speaking. "Unless Aldric voluntarily renounces his inheritance, no one has the right to take it from him."
Everyone lowered their heads, sighing inwardly but not daring to argue.
"Then I renounce it."
A calm voice echoed from the doorway.
A young man stepped in — black hair, tanned skin, around 175 centimeters tall. His handsome, actor-like face was framed by a loose black robe that gave him a lean yet striking presence.
"What did you just say?" Nedaric's deep voice rolled through the room like thunder.
No one spoke, yet everyone felt the tension rise — heavy and suffocating.
"Aldric, how dare you speak to your father that way?" one of his stepmothers shouted.
Aldric glanced at the middle-aged woman with open disdain. "I'm speaking to my father, not to you. Haven't you learned proper noble etiquette? Even if you're his wife, you're still a concubine. By status, I'm a rank higher than you."
"You—!"
"Enough!" Nedaric's voice cut through the air. His gaze fixed on Aldric, filled with both suspicion and confusion. "Repeat what you just said."
Aldric smiled. "Father, are you going deaf already? Fine, I'll say it again. I… renounce my right of inheritance."
Nedaric narrowed his eyes, as if trying to see through his son's thoughts. "Are you certain?"
"Of course." Aldric showed no hint of fear. He pulled out a chair and dropped into it casually, crossing one leg over the other, arms folded across his chest — his expression radiating confidence. "However, I have one condition."
"Hm…" Nedaric stroked his chin. "Let's hear it."
"Simple," Aldric said with a grin. "Two hundred thousand gold coins. I'll leave immediately. From this day on, we'll have nothing to do with each other."
"You insolent brat!" another concubine snapped, her voice sharp and dripping with contempt. "You ate this family's food, grew up under its roof, and now you dare demand two hundred thousand gold coins to leave? Are you even human? You're a monster!"
"That's right."
One of Nedaric's sons sneered, curling his lip in disdain. "The family's entire business only brings in about three hundred thousand gold coins in annual profit, and he's asking for two hundred thousand? If he's not insane, then he's the greediest fool alive."
"Exactly." A daughter of Nedaric added, "He's lived this long thanks to this family's generosity. The fact that we haven't thrown him out already is a blessing for him, yet now he wants to drain us of gold? He's a demon — a vile parasite!"
"Huh!" Aldric smirked, his tone dripping with contempt. "Have you finished talking?"
"You—!"
"Let me enlighten you," Aldric interrupted coldly, his voice sharp enough to silence the room. "The family's business might only make three hundred thousand gold coins in annual profit, but the total assets of the Sterling Family easily exceed ten million gold coins."
"If I inherit this family, none of you will get a single coin. But if I take two hundred thousand and walk away, the rest will be yours to divide."
Everyone froze. The hall fell silent.
Aldric simply chuckled inwardly. 'Trying to argue with me? Hah, even if you practiced for a hundred years, you'd never win.'
Indeed, though he lacked magical talent or strength, his silver tongue was unmatched.
He had once "guided" many women into love — well, some might call it deception, but Aldric preferred to think of it as teaching them what love truly was. He knew exactly how to manipulate people's thoughts — and in this case, his audience was a pack of greedy, self-serving nobles.
'A bunch of vultures… let's see how you handle this mess now.'
He had turned their hostility toward him into hostility toward one another.
Because of their greed, his words made perfect sense to them.
If Aldric became the heir, none of them would gain anything. But if he renounced his claim and took his two hundred thousand, the family assets would remain intact — and they could all fight over the rest.
The problem that had targeted Aldric now became their problem. The wives and children began glancing at each other with suspicion and barely concealed malice.
Moments ago, they had been allies against him. Now, they eyed one another as rivals.
It was almost laughable.
Nedaric let out a long sigh, his expression unreadable. "Come to my study," he said softly.
Without another word, he stood and left the dining hall.
Aldric followed behind him — but then stopped midway. His gaze turned toward a middle-aged woman with brown hair and faint wrinkles marking her once-beautiful face. He frowned. "If I don't die soon, you'd better call Cedaric back to fight for this family's inheritance. Otherwise, these people will devour everything before he returns."
"You—!"
BAM!
Before she could react, Aldric slammed the door shut.
All at once, every pair of eyes in the room turned toward her — sharp, suspicious, and full of hostility.
"Y–you mustn't listen to him! He's lying—"
"Hahaha…" Another concubine burst out laughing. "Come now. Everyone knows that aside from Aldric, the one with the greatest right to inherit is Cedaric."
"Not only is he a Rank D Mage, but he's also studying at the Magic Academy. Agh! Looks like my son has no hope of inheriting this family anymore."
"That's true," another woman added, her tone turning venomous. "My poor son is only a Rank E Knight — he can't compete with Cedaric. Still… you should watch yourself. Even a mighty tiger can fall when surrounded by a pack of wolves."
"You wretched snakes!" the brown-haired woman hissed through clenched teeth, her hands trembling as she balled them into fists.
…
In the Nedaric's room.
He sat on a leather sofa, while Aldric took the seat across from him.
"You truly wish to give up your right of inheritance?" Nedaric asked gently — his voice far softer than it had been in the dining hall.
Aldric scoffed. "Huh! Father, you know exactly what I've endured all these years, don't you?"
Nedaric was silent for a long moment before nodding.
Aldric continued, "Not only Cedaric — everyone else wants me dead. Tell me, Father, do you honestly think I can accept the inheritance and live long enough to enjoy it when I'm just an ordinary man?"
Nedaric sighed, then nodded again. "You're right."
"Good. Then there's no need to persuade me otherwise. Just give me the two hundred thousand gold coins, and I'll leave this place for good. You'll never hear from me again."
Nedaric lowered his gaze, thinking deeply. After a while, he reached for a small red box and pushed it across the table toward Aldric.
"I'll give you five hundred thousand gold coins," he said solemnly. "The chest of gold will be loaded into your carriage. As for this box — I had planned to give it to you when you officially inherited the family."
Aldric frowned, staring at the box in confusion. "What's inside?"
Nedaric looked him straight in the eyes.
"A marriage letter."